Astro SEO

Use this skill when

• The user wants to audit, set up, or improve SEO in an Astro project.
• The task mentions head metadata, canonicals, structured data, JSON-LD, Open Graph images, sitemaps, indexing, IndexNow, schema endpoints, llms.txt, NLWeb, or hreflang in an Astro site.
• The user wants a practical Astro SEO implementation path rather than generic SEO advice.
• The work should route through @jdevalk/astro-seo-graph when that package is a good fit.

Do not use this skill when

• The project is not an Astro site.
• The main task is reviewing short strings like titles, descriptions, or bios rather than the SEO system. Use writing-and-editing in metadata-audit mode.
• The main task is auditing multi-paragraph prose quality rather than the site's technical or structural SEO. Use writing-and-editing in readability-audit mode.
• The user only wants a broad content marketing strategy with no repository or implementation work.

Inputs to gather

Required before editing

• astro.config.*, especially site, adapter, integrations, and any i18n setup.
• package.json scripts, Astro version, deployment target, and whether @jdevalk/astro-seo-graph is already installed.
• Current content layout (src/content, src/pages, layouts, head components, SEO helpers).
• Existing sitemap, robots, RSS, OG image, and schema wiring.

Helpful if present

• Whether the site is multilingual.
• Whether the site already publishes RSS, schema endpoints, or markdown alternates.
• Existing CI validation, broken-link checks, or build-time SEO validation.

Only investigate if encountered

• Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, analytics, or other manual post-file setup.
• Host-specific redirect and header behavior for Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare, or static hosting.

First move

1. Confirm this is an Astro site and read astro.config.* before proposing any SEO change.
2. Treat a missing or local-only site config as a blocking issue because canonicals, sitemaps, and OG URLs depend on it.
3. Check whether @jdevalk/astro-seo-graph is already installed and, if so, whether the project should upgrade before deeper auditing.

Workflow

1. Detect the project shape: deployment target, content model, locales, and current SEO implementation path.
2. Audit the site across the major SEO surfaces:
   • head metadata and canonical behavior
   • structured data / JSON-LD
   • content schema and collection validation
   • Open Graph images
   • sitemaps, robots, RSS, and indexing
   • agent-discovery surfaces such as schema endpoints, schema maps, llms.txt, and markdown alternates
   • performance and redirect hygiene
   • build-time validation and link checking
3. Recommend the smallest coherent implementation path:
   • upgrade or install @jdevalk/astro-seo-graph when it materially simplifies the missing pieces
   • preserve an existing hand-rolled setup when it already satisfies the important requirements
4. Implement the missing pieces, using references/implementation-recipes.md for concrete code recipes when needed.
5. Run writing-and-editing in metadata-audit mode on any short SEO strings you generated or rewrote, such as titles, descriptions, schema descriptions, FAQ answers, or frontmatter excerpts.
6. If the task also produced long-form prose, mention writing-and-editing in readability-audit mode as a follow-up rather than trying to audit the whole content corpus inline.

Guardrails

• Must not proceed with canonical, sitemap, or OG URL work without verifying the production site origin.
• Must not assume every audit finding requires replacing the existing SEO stack.
• Must not add SSR or client hydration to solve SEO problems a static Astro build already handles well.
• Must not treat metadata-string review as the same task as technical SEO implementation.
• Should prefer @jdevalk/astro-seo-graph as the default spine when the project needs head metadata, schema, IndexNow, redirects, and build-time validation in one path.
• Should branch on the current state: install when missing, upgrade when outdated, and selectively wire features when the package is already present.
• Should quote real code or config when reporting audit findings instead of giving generic SEO advice.
• Should call out any manual setup the repo cannot automate, such as Search Console registration, Bing Webmaster Tools, analytics, or IndexNow key management.

Validation

• Run the project's existing Astro validation path first, typically astro check and/or npm run build.
• Confirm the resulting HTML has correct canonical and metadata output on representative pages.
• Verify sitemap, robots, RSS, schema, and OG routes or generated files where relevant.
• If build-time SEO validation is wired, surface warnings explicitly rather than hiding them behind a passing build.

Examples

• "Audit the SEO on my Astro blog."
• "Set up structured data, sitemap, and OG images for this Astro site."
• "Help me add schema endpoints and llms.txt to my Astro project."
• "Our Astro site has weak metadata and indexing. Fix the setup."

Reference files

• Read references/implementation-recipes.md when you need implementation recipes for installing, upgrading, and wiring the recommended Astro SEO stack.